In Oregon

[kenjari]

So I made it to Oregon okay. It's sunny and beuatiful here. Things don't get going for the symposium until tomorrow, so I've got the whole day to explore and relax.


Morning:
I haven't even arrived in Eugene yet (I'm in the San Francisco airport), and this is already turning into an interesting trip. Th flight from Boston was smooth and pleasant, with the best landing ever (about the only time I have not gotten dizzy and vaguely nauseated during the descent). Surprisingly, Brett Levin was on the plane, too. He was en route to Hawaii and was several rows in front of me.
During the flight, I ended up having a great conversation with a charming British Indian man sitting next to me. He started out by asking me about the very long novel I'm reading (A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth). So we got to talking. It turned out that he works at Biogen in Cambridge, right down the road from where I work, and was going to San Francisco on business. We had a great conversation about music, creative work vs. other kinds of work, and which cities are nicest. It's a shame that I didn't get his name.

Evening:
The rest of the trip was smooth and uneventful. Oregon is even prettier than I remember it from my visit in November. I met up with Simon (from Wesleyan and Alpha Delt) for a quick dinner. He also gave me a brief walking tour of the more downtown area of Eugene. I will be having dinner with him and his family on Tuesday evening. It was quite good to see him, considering it's been about six years since we were last living in the same state.
I'd forgotten just how stupid a whole day of traveling plus a time change can make me. Despite the grid-like layout of Eugene's streets, and a good sense of direction, I had some trouble getting back to the dorm I'm staying in. I managed toget a little bit turned around, and then going in the wrong direction just confused my fatigue-addled brain further. Perhaps I should just call it a day.


Internet access is readily available in the library, which is right near the music building, so I should have no trouble posting about my adventures here.

Comments

[boof-boy.livejournal.com]

Why are you in Oregon? My best friend P comes from Eugene, or near there, somewhere called Clackamas County.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I am in the Composers Symposium for the Oregon Bach Festival. I'll be here for two weeks attending seminars, workshops, materclasses, and that sort of thing. I'm also getting a reading of "I Want to Pull On Your Coat About Something", a piece for bass and piano that I wrote for the symposium; and I will be giving a presentation on my my music.